NEW! Pandy Protein Candy Soda Shakers Review (CNSport)

The protein ever-expanding protein product market knows no bounds. Once upon a time I mocked the high street brands who were jumping on the high protein bandwagon, but since then I've returned to fitness and have cupboards full of bars and powders that supplement my diet (especially because I'm not a huge meat eater).

There's seemingly been a gap in the market though: protein sweets. Ever eaten a bag of Haribo and thought "I wish this was helping me hit my macros"? No? Nor me! Pandy have provided the answer to any of you who have however, and I know that I'm certainly not averse to the idea now that they're here!

"Pandy has three different bagged jelly candy products that are entirely free from sugar, gluten and lactose. They also have a high protein content, are low in calories, and are packed with BCAA. The candy is made in Sweden with the best calibre ingredients and the highest quality standards."

Pandy have produced three varieties: fruity 'Sour Plates', liquorice 'Salty Kettlebells' and pop flavoured 'Soda Shakers'. Fortunately for me my local sports nutrition shop manager, protein guru, and all round good guy Conor (of CNSport -who can also deliver) has just started stocking their entire range and offered me a bag to sample. The Soda Shakers sounded hardest to resist and so I gleefully nabbed a bag.

The 70g bag contained 20+ bottle shaped sweets, with a roughly even mixture of cola and lime flavours. They looked so convincingly like normal sweets that I'm not sure I was convinced that the whole pack could contain just 151kcal on 16g of protein!

Damn. They tasted just as good as they looked, and were addictive to boot. They were chewy and sweet with a surprising flavour likeness to their full-sugar and non-protein containing counterparts. Even my Haribo addicted other half was impressed!

So where's the catch? Well the only ones I could find is that they're still quite high in carbs (43g per 70g which comes from polyols) but that makes them perfect for leg day, am I right? They're also not suitable for vegetarians (due to the pork gelatin but that's probably obvious because they're jelly sweets) and excessive consumption may have some dodgy side effects for your tummy (also unsurprising due to the sugar substitutes used). They are however gluten and lactose free!

9/10

Macros per bag: 151kcal P16/C43/F0

Thank you Conor for the sample, I'll be buying more shortly! 

MEGA POST! Sweetly Subscription Box AND discount! (Online)

Lord knows how many American treats I've sampled since starting this blog. I fell in love with the country and their never ending supply of super sweet goodies a number of years ago, and my obsession hasn't even begun to wane yet. Cue my absolute glee when I received an email from Sweetly, inviting me to try their brand new American themed subscription box. Yes please!

So who are Sweetly and what do they offer exactly? 

"Hi, we're Sweetly and our mission is to deliver enjoyment and satisfaction through the medium of candy (sweets, if you prefer). We started Sweetly as we had grown tired of the the same old chocolate bars and sweets and wanted to give our taste buds something new to munch on. We visited the great country of America while visiting some old friends and that is where we fell in love with American candy. When we arrived back in the UK we craved for more American sweets but not only for ourselves, we wanted to share the sweet American taste with friends, family, co-workers and more importantly, you!
And that's how Sweetly was born."

Almost a month ago my Sweetly Box arrived, and if you follow me on Instagram you may have seen my excitement when I opened the parcel and uncovered all the goodies. I don't know about you but I'm often disappointed when I place an order online, for it to be delivered and only be half full. The day the Sweetly came felt like Christmas in comparison, for the box was jam packed full of all sorts of goodies. I expected a couple of candy bars, and some sweets but not the can of pop, pick and mix like sweeties and the little sachet of Kool Aid!

Even better yet, I hadn't tried many of the goods before, which was altogether astonishing given how much I've spent on Imported goods this year. In fact I've been trying to get hold of a whatchamacallit for months now, but every time I place an American Fizz order it's ourt of stock. The MoonPie also filled me with excitement, again it's something I've been eyeing up for a while, but my local shop sells stock that's over a year out of date (apparently it's allowed because it's 'Best Before').

Some of the treats I have tried already,  so if you want you can read my reviews of Twinkies, Butterfingers and Nerds.

5th Avenue

I had my doubts about the 5th avenue bar, and considered it to be a chocolate covered version of Nestle's Butterfinger. Given my ongoing love affair with Hershey's, I almost didn't want to try the 5th avenue for fear of ending our relationship.

Opening the bar, and snapping it in two confirmed my worst fears. Yes, this was all too reminiscent of the horribly sickly Butterfinger. I bit the end, but alas, that's all I could manage. The chocolate was pretty decent for American stuff though.

2/10

Whatchamacallit
I really enjoyed this caramel, rice crisp, and peanut filled bar and would describe it as a peanut butter toffee crisp. The combination of textures and flavours worked well together, and I'd be more than happy to buy them in future.

8/10

U-NO 

U-NOs are made by Annabelle's, who alsoproduce the Rocky Road S'mores bar. The U-NO bar is described as 'a smooth rich milk chocolate bar with a truffle-like center covered in milk chocolate and ground almonds.' It's a whopper of a bar though, but I'm afraid the taste wasn't fantastic -it made me think of the cheap Christmas truffles you might find in poundland at Christmas time. That said, it was very chocolatey, and fulfilled my chocolate cravings.

6/10

Mallo-Cups
Boyer say that here are 'seldom better combinations in candy than gooey marshmallow and chocolate'. I'm not sure I agree with that -peanut butter and, well anything?- but I do like chocolate, and marshmallow so was looking forward to tucking in. The centres were gooey, more like Marshmallow Fluff, and the chocolate was waxy -but I was hit by a shock! The chocolate contained coconut, which gave the Mallo-Cups a much more unusual edge which was rather pleasant. Coconut and chocolate isn't my favourite, so I probably wouldn't buy them again, but if you're a fan then give the Boyer cups a go sometime!

6/10

Gatorade
The iconic American drink that I have never tried. I rarely buy lemon or lime flavoured drinks but was more than happy to find out what all the fuss was about. I was disturbed by the colour however -it looked like it would make me glow in the dark! The other surprise was that it wasn't carbonated (I always assumed that 'ade' =fizzy, cherryade for example). Unfortunately it really wasn't my cup of tea but now I can tick it off my 'must try one day' list at least!

4/10

Lemonheads
Ahh these little box of bright yellow nuggets packed a punch. They were like zingy, hard coated, chewy centred jelly beans and were one of my favourites in the Sweetly box!

8/10

Now and Later Extreme Sour Watermelon Soft Chews
I'm really not good with really sour sweets -Tangfastics are abour my limit- so I was a bit cautious when trying these. I needn't have been though, sour fanatics might be disappointed, but they delivered a tartness that was enjoyable! The texture was like chewits too which meant that my fillings stayed in place too, hurrah!

7/10

Pink Lemonade Kool-Aid
I know I said I don't often by lemon or lime flavoured drinks, but pink lemonade is my exception to that rule -don't ask me why, not much makes sense in my mind anyway! The packet advised to add either sugar or sweetener and to dissolve in water, but I was feeling rebellious and poured mine into Cream Soda. It was genius though! I felt both girlie, smart and Kool with my pint of 'homemade' ;) pink lemonade.

8/10

Starburst GummiBursts
Rob and I fought over the 10 or so sweets in this little pack. Each sweet was packed full of flavour (especially the red ones!) and I really wish that they would be released in the U.K

9/10

MoonPie Chocolate Double-Decker
I've heard the MoonPie likened to Wagon Wheels on a number of occasions, but this wasn't just any MoonPie, it was the double-decker version! The MoonPie comprised of layers of marshmallow, graham cracker and chocolate, which sounded rather delicious to me. Now as far as I was aware, Graham Crackers are the U.S equivalent of our digestive, i.e a staple, crunchy biscuit type affair. Well the 'cracker' in the Moon Pie was more cakey than that -but honestly? It made it even scrummier. 

After eating one half, I popped the rest in the microwave for 15-20 seconds. This happened to be another lightbulb moment -all the marshmallow went stringy, whilst the chocolate had started to melt. I made an awful mess eating it, but it brought out the child in me and made me grin (isn't that the Wagon Wheel thing?).

9/10

Summary
I'm super impressed with Sweetly. In fact its the best subscription box I've tried to date, and if I weren't constantly buying snacks to review on the blog I would most certainly sign up. Sweetly costs £13.99 per month and there's no delivery fees. Each box contains 12-14 full-size treats (including at least 5 premium items) which the company says is worth more than £30 in retail value (and I believe them), so it's fantastic value for money. You've got just 6 days if you want to get your hands on November's box, otherwise I think it would make a fab Christmas present for fellow sugar addicts! For 10% off your first order enter SEEKSNEWTREATS10! Click here to visit their website.

Sweetly = 10/10

Thanks very much Sweetly for sending me one of your first boxes!

Pretzel M&Ms (69p at B&M Bargains)

If you know anything about me by now, you'll realise I love nothing more than a good bargain (except possibly peanut butter and chocolate). My favourite discount store though has to be B&M bargains, due to their ever-increasing range of inexpensive American goodies. 

This week I picked up this bag of Pretzel M&Ms for just 69p. I've been hankering after pretzels since reviewing the wonderful 'Take 5' Bar. Its a shame we don't have more chocolate/pretzel combinations in the UK, but I'm sure that would be deemed far too risqué for us Brits. 

The bag contained 14 irregular shaped candy coated balls (oo-er!). Biting into my first M&M, I have to admit, I was disappointed at the lack of flavour. I could taste the sweet crispy coating, and the almost biscuit-like pretzel within, but the characteristic saltiness and chocolate was lacking. However, as I continued on through the bag, I discovered some with a thicker -more satisfying- layer of chocolate, and others with a salty kick. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the evenly flavoured M&Ms,  I just wish that I could have depended on the combination in every bite. 

7/10

Take 5, Mike and Ike Zours, Twizzlers & Nerds (Taffy Mail Conclusion)

Take 5
The item I was most undeniably excited about in the Taffy Mail goody box was this Take 5 Bar. It's an unusual concept, and it's called Take 5 because it consists of 5 components: chocolate, pretzels, peanut butter, caramel and peanuts. The packet told me it contained 2 bars, and I was expecting them to come in a 2-finger format like Twix, but instead they were a couple of square-ish shaped blocks.

Once the blocks were sliced into, you could easily distinguish the chocolate, caramel, peanut butter and pretzels, which were evenly distributed (unlike the Cadbury's marvellous creations bars). As a fan of cleanliness and order this pleased me enormously. The structure of the bar meant that you could taste each of the elements in every bite. The chocolate wasn't great, and it reminded me of the coating of Reese's PB cups (I then read the packet and realise that it is indeed made by the same company- Hershey's). The caramel was gloriously sticky, although there wasn't a great deal of it because the bar is so compact. I could taste the peanuts & peanut butter which resembled the filling of a Snickers bar. The most enjoyable element however came as a surprise- it was the pretzels- which added a lovely saltiness to the bar and complemented the sugary chocolate and caramel wonderfully. 

The amalgamation of 5 completely different constituents resulted in textural heaven: bite, chew, smooth and stickiness. Yum.

If you're a fan of the sweet/salty combination I'd definitely recommend Take 5!

9/10

Mike and Ike Zours

These little pellet shaped sweets pack a punch. I'd describe them as a Jelly Bean version of Haribo Tangfastics -minus the sugary coating. Each flavour is perfectly represented (lemon, apple, watermelon, blue raspberry and cherry) and is chewy without pulling being filling-removers. They're utterly different to what we have in the UK, and I'd happily buy them again

7/10

Twizzlers
I've seen these in the import sections of both B&M and Tesco. Twizzlers are another Hershey's product and are strawberry twisted licorice. The flavour was mild and very synthetic, and although they're quite fun to eat in a 'Cheesestrings' kind of way, I'd probably opt for normal strawberry laces in favour of Twizzlers.

3/10

Nerds
Nerds were something I remember enjoying as a child, and this duo pack of cherry lemonade and watermelon apple rekindled my love of these little crunchy miniature sweets, although I'm not sure I could identify the flavours if asked!

7/10

Taffy Mail Conclusion
Once again, a huge thank you to the guys at Taffy Mail for sending me a sample of their Classic Box to review.

Christmas is just a couple of days away, and if you're panicking that you've not finished buying gifts for those you love, then why not subscribe to Taffy Mail for them, boxes start from just £7.49 and that way they recieve a box each month!

Alternatively If you've got a sweet tooth, and crave something a bit different to what's available on the UK market, Taffy Mail might just be your answer.

For more info please visit: www.taffymail.co.uk

Laffy Taffy Apple, Funyuns & Trident Pineapple (Taffy Mail Part 1)

As a lover of American snacks, I was over-the-moon when Taffy Mail kindly offered to send me a box of their November 'Classic' Box to review. Taffy Mail are a subscription based service who will send a surprise selection of American treats to your door every month, with prices range from £7.49-£24.99 depending on how many goodies you'd like to receive. The classic box is their mid-priced product and contains 10-12 American Sweets & 1 can of Pop.

I felt like Christmas had come early when the Postie dropped mine off. The box was chock-a-block full of goodies, and so I'll be reviewing it in parts over the next week or so! 





















Just for info, the box contained:

• Laffy Taffy Sour Apple
• Laffy Taffy Strawberry
• Mike & Ike Zours
• Trident Pineapple
• Take 5
• Twinkies
• Double Dipped Nerd
• Hawaiian Punch "Juicy fruit Red"
• Twizzlers Twists
• Milk Duds
• Funyuns

Laffy Taffy Apple














The Laffy Taffy was a very long rope style sweet, and although it claimed to contain no artificial flavours, it certainly contained  artificial colours as it was luminescent green and would have made an excellent glow-stick!




















It was apple-y although not particularly sour, and had a good amount of chewiness (which I was thankful for as my teeth can't handle hard caramels). It was fun, but nothing hugely different to what we can get here in the UK -it's  similar to a long Maoam- although I did like the terrible joke on the back!

5/10

Trident Pineapple
I get through quite a lot of chewing gum, and I really like flavoured gum- especially the Turbulence range because the flavour is powerful and it lasts a long time too. I wish we had more of the exciting flavours that the Americans are accustomed to, and so I was looking forward to enjoying a fresh new flavour.

It certainly tasted exotic and refreshing to begin will, but within 30 seconds the flavour faded to nothing and I was forced to throw my piece in the bin.
3/10

Funyuns

Ooh clever play on words- but basically these are just onion rings -standard, maize based snacks that you can buy from any British supermarket. 

They were tasty, but they're not particularly different to what we have here in good ol' Blighty (and pickled onion Monster Munch waaaay outstrip them!)
4/10